Episode 4
Eno lay in bed sobbing uncontrollably, It had been three days since Chinaza died and was buried in a shallow unmarked grave like a goat. The shock left Eno shaken, whenever she tried to sleep, she heard Chinaza’s cry in the labour room, she had been unable to eat anything for three days, she became very sick and weak , nurse Amaka was sent to come and take her blood samples .
” Barren girl get up , let me take your blood for lab test .”
She said , Eno ignored her and lay down, the nurse dragged her up with force Eno shoved her , and nurse Amaka slapped her.
“You barren witch , you’re womb less , with constant sex with different men for the past four four months you can’t get pregnant, if you give me hard time I’ll inject you poison .”
She took the blood sample and left . Ekaite left her room she shared with three pregnant girls and came to Eno’s room .
” Enobong why have you refused to eat or come outside for three days? Chinaza is dead , starving yourself won’t bring her back . You need to get Up and clean yourself .”
Eno sat up very lean and emaciated.
“We’re just lab pigs , that’s what we’re , this people kidnapped us , rape us , make us pregnant, then sell our babies to strangers , I just pray…”
She was interrupted by a strong urge to vomit , so she ran out to vomit .
The chef brought her so much food and vitamins.
“Why this many food ? What are you celebrating?”
Enobong asked. The chef who hardly spoke to her became so chatty and friendly .
“Nothing madam Gold instructed us to take good care of you , no one will disturb you again”
Enobong ignored him, he went away with the empty tray pan afyer offloading the food in it . Enobong’s head was so heavy beating the konga drum of headache. Ekaite encouraged her to go take her shower, because the men have been coming to sleep be with her some days two times some days one .she went to the bathroom and had her bath, Ekaite was waiting outside for her .
” Ekaite how did you end up here ? How did you get to know my aunt ? What did she say to you to convince you to come here .”
Ekaite wore a sad look on her face , she never imagined her life would turn this bad .
“Well your Aunt had shown picture of you and here with another woman in different cities of the world , she said you went with your boss to Dubai, Paris and London, some pictures you snapped in snore and trains .” Enobong was confused, she didn’t know what Ekaite was saying, because the only place she went with Aunt Emabong was ShopRite, were she asked a woman in her forties to join them for a picture , that she loved the woman’s cloth design. Aunt Emabong had given the picture to an acquaintance of hers ,who was a Photoshop expert , who made different pictures with various clothes, shoes , postures and places .
” So I was working as a POS operator , your aunt came around to withdraw from my center, we got into a conversation, she asked me of my salary, I told hee it was just ten thousand naira a month, she said it was very poor , she told me she connects ladies to jobs as nanny for wealthy people in Aba and Onitsha, she said they paid graduates up to eighty thousand, and sixty thousand naira for secondary school leavers , I told my parents they were skeptical at first , so I went to see your mother , she told me that you were in London with your madam, were she went to put to bed, that you’re staying there for five months, she showed me the things you sent to her . I was convinced, I left without my parents consent, when we got to Aba, your aunt made me call my mum and informed her , that I was already in Onitsha that I’m working with a white couple, that my phones would be switched off, because the white people are scared of kidnappers, that their last nanny organized a kidnap for their children, so they became very scared .”
Tears dripped down Ekaite’s face as she narrated her ordeal . Eno rushed out again to puke .
“Enobong I think you’re pregnant?”
The thought terrified Eno.
“God forbid! She said “no no I can’t get pregnant here .”
Ekaite changed the conversation, she and Eno reminisced their secondary school experiences , times they pranked their teachers , times they got into trouble, they talked about their crushes , they also talked about classmates who had made it to the University.
“Eno I had gotten admission before ASUU went on strike, I wish there was no long strike, I wouldn’t have been here , I just wanted to make some quick cash for four months, so I could open my own POS center in UniUyo , my parents don’t give much up keep money for handouts and food to my Older siblings, so I didn’t want to go empty handed to school…”
Madam Gold and chief matron. Entered the door which was unlocked .
“Can you excuse us Ekaite?
Ekaite scurried out of the room .
” Eno how are you doing? You’re looking so pale. You have to eat well, you can’t be starving yourself, have you taken the supplement? ”
Eno starred at her , if her eyes could burn them down , like dragons breath , she would have burnt them to crisp.
“Emabong, some couples have been married for years , they can’t make babies on their own, so we help them, bring joy to their bitter marriages , can you not understand? We’re doing God’s work here .”
Eno hated this woman the more for her swift change of demeanor, she knew her heart was black hole , filled with reptiles and scorpions.
“Please Nurse Amara will take your blood pressure, daily to make sure you’re fine.”
Nurse Amara try to touch Eno, she shrugged away as if she was a leprous woman. The nurse and Madam Gold left her room to attend to other pregnant ladies , they were about fifty twenty pregnant girls in the compound .
The two ladies who Aunt Emabong had brought, gave birth and had left the facility, they were in their mid and early twenties, those ladies do the business every year , they get pregnant for random men, stay in town till they’re close to delivery, they come to give birth in the facility, they get paid as much as five hundred thousand naira, their babies are sold and everybody is happy, Madam Sharp Sharp gets her cut of two hundred thousand, the babies are sold to wealthy couples for the sum of two to five million, couples were happy to get their own kids from pained and unhappy slave mother’s .
The men had stopped coming to Eno’s room, she was getting sick with nausea and fever constantly, at three months later , her pregnancy had began to shoot out .
She said wouldn’t allow madam Gold take her baby, she was looking for an escape route out of the premises, the gate always had two gaurds at a time, who ran a shift of one week in one out . CCTV cameras covered every corner of the building, the house was powered with solar panels ,so light would never be an option .
Eno had started making friends with some of the ladies , she got to know some who were they to give birth and others were slaves there , not knowing when they would ever get out . Mary was there before Eno and Ekaite were brought in, on this afternoon the girls sat under an guava tree to discuss .
“Mary for how long have you been here? Ekaite asked
Mary was a girl of twenty one , she had been there for four years .
” Madam Sharpi Sharpi tricki my aunt in Benue, she didn’t know she selling me , she wanted to come me here to do house girl job, madam sharpi sharp now soldi me here .”
She was looking very sad .
“How many children have you given birth to in this place?”
Ekaite asked.
“I have had two misicarriagesi, and four childrens.”
She had a habit of adding I at the end of her long word .
“Four of your children gone are gone forever? I can’t let them take my kids! Eno vented In fury.
“Ifu no allowed them, to take your baby, they’ll beati you and stilly take your baby.”
Eno was dumbstruck. “Who are those people buried in the unmarked grave at the back of thr clinic? ”
Ekaite asked , she could see tears drop from Mary’s eyes .
“There is girls.” She said cleaning the tears with the back of her hand .
“What do you mean girls?”
Eno added in confusion .
“They is girls, that dies sometimes, madam Gold is no allowed any somebody to be take to hospital, I them sick, or cannot fit born baby themselves, she fear them talk to doctor and nurses for hospital and police come arrest this place , my sister Juliana is died here , them bury her there.”
“Mary do you think they will ever allow us go ?” Ekaite asked.
“Girls that come withi belly , them is allowed go , when madam Gold is pay them, them is not call police, because them is come here themselves, but we is force here, madam Gold Is keep us here , us continuing to born , she sell babies for her Orphanages for Onitsha.”
Eno knew she couldn’t remain here , she Would never give her babies up to be sold , she was going to find her way out but she didn’t know how she would do it .
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